Hamblin fined $2100 for high-range PCA

AN Orange man after a late-night snack has been fined $2100 and disqualified from driving for six months in Orange Local Court after he registered more than four times the legal blood alcohol limit.

Shane Stephen Hamblin, 35, of Moresby Street, registered a reading of 0.209 and pleaded guilty to high-range PCA after police standing on the footpath spotted him trying to negotiate his way through a McDonald’s drive-through on November 13.

Police said Hamblin bunny-hopped the silver Ford Laser into the Bathurst Road drive-through just after midnight and took several minutes to order due to staff having difficulty understanding his slurred speech.

The P-plate driver told police he had not consumed any alcohol, but admitted to drinking four beers after he returned a positive result.

His solicitor, Michael Madden, told the court Hamblin had concerns for his mother’s health at the time of the incident and the McDonald’s was the closest food outlet.